Possible meteorite?

[Zeke]

Found this thing over at moms. A magnet will slightly cling to it and my BH 101 will give a faint chirp.

 

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[bakergeol]

Hi Zeke
The item has vesicles or small holes which is not characteristic of meterorites. Nickel-iron meterorites are highly magnetic. Looks like something out of a high temperature furnace.

George

 

[Diane L.]

Say George,I don't want to question your authority on this question Though, I was wondering about meteorites I heard no vesicles,Though when you look at My book I got from The great Robert Haag.Some look just like that one and I have one that look like the rock on page 30 of his book...So if thats true why do they put rocks in books like that...Could it be a Pallicite type of meteorite.I want to send a picture of the rock item I found That you rock found is really a one to think over.
Do Meteorites have to be smooth and heavy?Go to Meteorite man.com and you will see what I mean.This has stumped me for a Long time.
Grind a piece of the rock and see if you notice shinny glitter look to it and then I would also send it to a lab...Though He is probably right because there are a lot of rocks that look like meteorites, but are really earthy rocks only.
I don't know how to put pictures on the internet, I do have a copier machine and can put them in my computer
just don't know how to send out.
Can someone with experience give me some help please ,I truly appreciate your help..
I would like to send some picture of rocks I found for an opinion on some of them...Because they are driving me nuts making me wonder about them.

 

[Zeke]

This thing is really heavy for its size.
Its probally just a bit smaller than a baseball around and only an 1 1/2" thick but it weighs a 1/2lb.

 

[Gribnitz]

Looks like slag to me. Go to this site and do all the tests and if it passes them all, send it in to be checked.

http://home.earthlink.net/~magellon/IDWEB.html

Most meteorites are very heavy for thier size. The only ones that won't be are stoney's and those are rarely found usless you see it hit the ground. The reason being is that they look exactly like any other rock you may see, but they contains small amounts of nickel and iron to distinguish them. ALL meteorites will contain some amount of nickel.

There are lots of hot rocks out there. Hematite, magnetite, and slag can all look like meteorites and attract a magnet. The truth is, the likelyhood of a person finding a meteorite is worse than winning the lottery, unless it is in a known strewn field. The meteor showers you see at night rarely ever reach the ground. 99% of them burn up before they hit.

 

[Diane L.]

Yepper ! Your right on that issue...Just last Saturday I watched a stream of smoke go straight down..Looked like it was just down the road, At 3:30 in the morning..... but it probably was miles away!I read in two books and spoke with a scientist, He says that there could be three meteorites for every 90 acres "IF"! The ground was not moved for building If..It was not almost melted away from rusting and moved because of ground freezing and water washing it away...and other stuff of that sort..So that messes things up a little more...I still think it is worth looking for..I have about 15 different rocks that have all the symptoms of meteorites..If I keep looking one should sooner or later come up through my search....It takes a lot of knowledge for searching and asking permission..and study what they look like..I still screw up now and then but have faith!Go to places that were untouched.....Deserts,Mountains..sometimes there sitting there and covered by rocks until you find them because they look different...In low lake beds or one where the water has dried up!
Farmers find them because they dig the ground during plowing....and occasionally you just get lucky! So keep looking dreams do come true.And even if you don't find one your one of the "Team Meteorite Hunters!" And that you can be proud of! I AM of my own hunting these elusive rocks from space!

 

[bakergeol]

Hi Diane

Don't forget as this item is magnetic- the issue is -Is this an iron-nickel meterorite? I am certainly no expert nor even that knowledgeable on meteorites but I have seen a lot of slag specimens. The reverse -gray color looks glassy to me on my monitor? and combined with the the small holes is quite characteristic of furnace specimens.? Just looks like? another slag specimen.

George

 

[Diane L.]

Yes,? I know I was just wondering about those couple of questions and another person told me it looked like a klinker,same thing.I definetley am no meteorite expert either ...though I sure would like to find one again without losing it, like one I had a long time ago...and I am kicking myself ever since.
Oh well!

 

[Daygen]

In a farmers feild I detected a rock, brought it to my buddy and asked what it was (being such a newbie, and not fully understanding why my detector would pickup on a rock) all that was explained to me was that it was a "hot rock"
what is the difference between a hot rock and a meteorite? i dont remember much of what it looked like, it was about 7 lbs and way too heavy for me to keep in my pouch all day long. any help on this would be appreciated!
HHing!

 

[Zeke]

Now that I think about it.....it probally is slag. There use to be a blacksmith shop about a 1/4 mile from where I found it. Would it be possible that that is what is was from?

 

[Diane L.]

Hot rocks!.... Are basically just a rock that would probably be of earthly properties.
True and Untrue!
Hot rocks can and may be a be a meteorite why? It all depends on how long it has been sitting there,what it looks like and what kind symptoms I call it that it has.....
Fact! There are different types of Meteorites...Stoney Iron's are the ones we usually find though we could find the others also.
If you know anything about geology..There are many differtent types of rocks that look like meteorites, as such! Hematite,Magnetite,Volcanic type rocks,iron and a few.others.
Any Rock that has any type of iron,gold,fake gold,nickel,copper,tin..which has a lot of nickle in it etc... will be picked up by a metal detector and that is why you picked it up. Look it up on the internet under Rocks and minerals.
this will help you understand these different rocks.
Now say you find what could be a meteorite!
Here are symptoms!
1.Is it magnetic?
2. Does it move a compass?
3. Is it heavier then a rock's of it's own size and diameter?
4. Doe's it have small nickle shinny spots in it when you grind a part of it or it?
5.Does it have a thin burnt layer on the outside as thin as eggshell?
6.If it has been sitting in the ground for many years ,the layer is probably gone and it is most like rusted metal..Clean it with just water and soap and look at it in the sun to get a clearer look for the shinny sparkles.Look at picture on "Meteorite Wrongs.com" This is a great site to check your rock and compare it to others that people have sent in..I have checked it many times because they keep adding postures.So that tells the odds of finding one also...Don't stop looking though the gold en rock can be missed and carry your magnet to test rocks.

If you have any symptom it might be a meteorite..But this has to be tested at a lab..because they use different nasty chemicals to check and it is not advised to do this on your own..So send it! That is the only sure way you will find out.
I have about 15 different rocks they all look different,but have these symptoms..A lab will let you know because there are many rocks on earth with these same symptoms. Thats the hard facts !

For every 90 or so acres it is said to have at least three meteorites in Rocks from space book...But that is all depending in lots of human factors and we are the ones doing it with all our building etc...
But it's still worth a look to me.

 

[Gribnitz]

what is the difference between a hot rock and a meteorite? HHing!

A hot rock is basically any rock with a high enough iron content to set your detector off. These are usually hematite or magnetite, but other derivitives of these rocks will set off a detector too. They just need enough iron in them to register as metallic on your detector. Since meteorites contain high iron/nickel, they can be classified as a hot rock too, but they are a good "hot rock" to find.

There is no definitve test an individual can do to tell if a rock is a meteorite or not. You can get a good feel on whether it is worth sending in for testing or not by doing the home tests that are shown in links here: http://home.earthlink.net/~magellon/IDWEB.html

The only way to know for sure is to send it in to a lab for analyisis. They are the experts with the equipment and testing chemicals to know what they are looking for.

 

[Daygen]

Thanks for the information on Hot Rocks/Meteorite! Wish I had kept the silly thing now! Next time I am back in that farmers feild I will keep my eyes open for it, although I dont know where I tossed it.

Thanks once again!

 

[peterjl]

meteorite "may" have holes in them:

The Willamette Meteorite was discovered in the American state of Oregon, and is the largest meteorite ever found in the United States, and the sixth largest in the world. It is an iron-nickel meteorite; no impact crater has been found, probably being in Canada.

Its pits (see photograph) were caused not by a flaming descent through the atmosphere, but by centuries of rusting in the wet forest of western Oregon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willamette_Meteorite

 

[peterjl]

then again it reminds me of I think I remember years back seeing near a road or roads...asphalt?....could it be melted asphalt thats hardened?

Peter

 

[wolfpaw518]

If you look at the pic again you can see all the little pits on the surface, what there concerned about is,... say you break the rock in half, do the little pits go all the way through? (on the top right it looks like a piece broke off with internal pits.)

There saying if there are pits INSIDE it's not a metorite, surface can have anything.

thats what I heard years ago...
neil

 

[Michael Karr]

I HAVE ALSO FOUND SOME OF THE SAME MATERAL WHILE ARROWHEADS HUNTING,,,,MIKE

 

[Zeke]

Anybody see the show on the Travel Channel yesterday? Guy was using a homebuilt detector....big one.....pulled behind an ATV out in Kansas...or Nebraska They dug up a couple close to 100lbs.

 

[Texas_Meteorite_Hunter]

What the pictures show is a peice of slag. The air bubbles give it away. I've seen dozens of slag pieces shown to me by farmers for an ID. Its a common meteor-wrong.